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Niko has owned a few dragons, mainly garchomps and thought flygons were interesting enough to study, without counting the goomy he wanted to raise, the Koraidon he was entrusted with and other dragon types he fought and observed in the wild, needless to say, he got the hang on ways dragons communicated ; the intricacies of their body languages, their coos, growls, rumbles, trills…
And as it turns out, this language does not escape legendaries, at least one of them.
He’s not too sure about other dragon types legendaries, but Palkia sure does communicate like any other dragon types, maybe with a few changes here and there but it wasn’t too difficult, in his humble opinion.
Contrary to popular belief, probably from Hisui since Palkia was the one to go insane and go origin, Palkia is actually pretty friendly, enjoying a good neck scratch, a treat, and napping under the sun. He saw this behavior in his dragon types, but also in a skitty his family had back in Kalos, he guesses that for dragon types it’s to warm them up, they are quite sensitive to the cold after all, probably due to them being cold blooded, but Palkia is partly a water type so the cold shouldn’t bother them that much, so Niko regard them as a skitty. A 336 kilograms and 420 centimeters tall skitty.
Rumbles-
When a dragon type feels particularly safe, content and/or relaxed, they may tend to rumble. It is quite similar to a purr, but much, much deeper and of lower frequencies, which means that for some dragon type Pokémons their rumbles might not be audible, but the person next to them will report feeling as though their skeleton was being shaken.
Also, it is important to note that rumbles are not growls, if you can hear rumbles it might also resemble a growl, but growls are usually louder as a warning to not mess with the dragon type.
“What’s up ?”
Niko asked, as he watched the legendary roll around in the grass.
He himself was seated in the grass, Paldea had some massive sunny plains with no major towns around, and also quite a few ruins but that’s besides the point.
It is also quite a nice place to be for dragon types as Paldea is far warmer than other regions, same goes for Alola or Hoenn.
Palkia decided that they wanted the human’s attention and crawled closer to him and curled up around him, resting their head on his lap.
If that wasn’t them asking for pets then he doesn’t know what that is, which he was more than happy to give.
“Awn, who’s a good dragon !” He cooed as he scratched the dragon’s neck.
The texture was nice, Palkia is surprisingly pretty fuzzy, but also feel damp at the same time ? Well they are part water type so that would explain the dampness, but where does the fuzz come from ? Oh well, who would say no to a fuzzy dragon ?
Who also happens to be the very personification of space.
Niko suddenly felt something odd, his body felt like it was trembling, shaking from a vibration he could barely hear. Barely. It could have been centimeters away from him or miles away and he wouldn’t know any better, but he quickly found the source of the sound and shaking when he felt the legendary’s neck also tremble under his palm.
It made him stop for a few seconds, registering the sound and what it meant, just before he squealed, burying his face into the white and pink dragon’s neck.
“Awn ! Who’s a happy dragon ?! Who’s my happy dragon ?!”
He received a higher pitched rumble at the question, clearly a way to answer “I am”.
Trills-
Trills are high pitched grumbles, they don’t last as long as rumbles do, they are a quick noise to signal that a dragon is extremely happy about something or someone. It can be a present or seeing their favorite person, trills are also associated with the feeling of trust.
Although generally high pitched, for dragons whose rumbles are inaudible, it might simply sound like a quick purr.
This sound is generally accompanied with dilated pupils, wagging tail, flapping wings and sometimes tapping feet on the ground.
“Palkia, try Draco meteor !” Niko shouted, sounding confident, yet the 90 accuracy of the move made him nervous.
With the moveset of Draco meteor, water veil, bulldoze and aura sphere, there wasn’t much he could do against a talonflame.
Not only is Draco Meteor not very accurate, it also had a major downside of lowering the user’s special attack by two stages.
And Palkia is very much a special attacker (though they also had 120 base stat in attack, which is pretty nice as they use bulldoze).
“It’s okay if it doesn’t work ! We can still try again next turn-“ He couldn’t even finish his sentence that by some miracle the attack landed.
The talonflame went down.
“YES !” He cheered loudly, shaking his fists trying to contain his excitement, the battle still wasn’t over yet, but he is pretty unlucky usually so moves that are not 100 in accuracy tends to miss. A lot. “Good job Kia !” He shouted at the white and pink dragon.
Palkia seemed to perk up from the praise, looking a bit tired from their special attack being reduced by two stages, but they trilled loudly, their small wings flapping before turning back to their new opponent, an arbok.
“Alright Palkia ! Bulldoze !” He barely had to finish his sentence before the legendary dragon stomped harshly on the ground, shaking it and breaking it, Niko had to find his balance before he fell to the floor. Oh the risks of being a Pokémon trainer. Though he did not miss the spacial dragon looking back at him with an expectant look. Palkia did a critical move to be praised.
“Fantastic job ! Fantastic ! Very good !” Niko praised with both thumbs up. Palkia seemed happy enough with the praises as they trilled again, before roughly grabbing the arbok and slamming it on the ground. Hard. Several times.
Oopsi.
Coos-
Cooing is a well known sound from dragons as they can mean a lot of things ; empathy, sadness, fondness, being hurt, curiosity etc… Depending on the context.
However, if you find your draconic friend cooing repeatedly for no apparent reason, I suggest you seek out help from the nearest Pokémon center.
They were watching him. Niko had no idea why, but Palkia was staring at him.
He was sat, tablet on his lap as he drew a commission, they laid beside him on his bed, rumbling contently.
He thinks at least.
He turned to look at them, himself just watching them, and he noticed the way their pupils dilated, the way their rumbles turned into coos, the way they shifted under his gaze…
He brought a hand to pet their head, hearing how they trilled happily at the affection as he turned back to focus on his lining.
They were still watching him, but this time the human couldn’t help but hear how they cooed more than they did before.
Screeching-
A loud resonating sound to signal that your draconic friend is in pain, or demanding attention. It’s a very sudden noise made to startle people, wether it’s because your dragon type friend bit it’s tail a bit too hard or because it wants another snack.
Depending on your dragon friend’s personality, they may or may not screech often, the more your dragon screech for attention, the more dramatic they are.
“Come to bed.”
“Kia, I can’t, I have to finish this.”
Niko heard them grumble, but he did not pay them any mind. He had a very important paper he had to finish, at least the manuscript part, he still had two days before handing back an 40 pages long essay about AI with a PowerPoint presentation. He just had to finish writing this little piece, then he’ll go to sleep and peacefully finish up the PowerPoint tomorrow. It’s fine.
Unfortunately a certain dragon and water dual type spacial god decided that they wanted his attention. And he really couldn’t right now. Thankfully they were in human form so they did not make a lot of noises that would alert anyone. (He doesn’t know how either, he just guesses that gods will be gods and will take on a human form sometimes. That they have full control of, including gender. He wishes he could do that with his own body to be honest.)
Though Palkia decided that it would be the best time to just screech, the sound making the human jump as he quickly tries to shush them.
“What. The fuck. Are you doing ?!” He whispered angrily.
“You are tired. And you’ve been working too hard these past couple of weeks.” They simply stated.
“Yeah, I know, life has just been busy.” He replied.
“Come to bed.”
“Kia please- just- let me finish my paragraph, okay ?”
He did not receive any answers whatsoever, which he took as a sign that he could continue, however, his only mistake was lifting his pen from his paper for more than 2 seconds before he was snatched up in the air.
“Palkia put me down !” He whispered-yelled, but that was not use since he was quickly put into bed and wrapped by strong arms and legs, the legendary holding onto him like a komala to it’s log.
“There, now sleep.” They said, burying their face into his neck and he could hear the smile, how proud they were in their voice. Well he didn’t have much of a choice now, did he.
“Fine. Can I just take my sleep gummies first ?”
“Fine.”
Sure Palkia did say that they wanted him in bed because he was tired, but it was also because how dare this piece of paper take so much attention from them ? What about them ? Where were their praises and gentle touches ? In the end, they won, they got his attention and cuddles, so they were more than happy to rumble the night away with their favorite human in their arms.
Growling + Jealousy-
Dragons types are very well known to be territorial, and will not take too kindly to another dragon being in their territory, or close to their trainer, so they will have a tendency to grow jealous and growl.
This is clearly a sign that your dragon is angry or threatened, emanating a deep and loud sound in order to wan off any possible opponents, this means your dragon needs space.
If you fail to do so your dragon will lash out at the closest object to them, and you better hope it’s not you.
When they do lash out give them as much time and space as possible and wait for it’s anger to mellow out, then let it sleep as it takes a lot of energy from them.
200 years ago (actually 5 for him), Niko had caught Palkia in an origin ball. He still has it, and he still uses it, just as a glorified and reusable master ball when a Pokémon he needs for the Pokédex is being a pain.
So it’s been a while since he’s referred to this ball as Palkia’s, he doesn’t even see this poke ball as theirs anymore.
However, he will find that they still very much see this pokeball as theirs.
“-And so, as I was saying, that’s when the bite of ‘87 happened, and it’s not the same as the one from ‘83-“ The human stopped mid sentence when he spotted a ditto in the wild. “Hold on that thought I need that for the Pokédex-“
The legendary, not human shaped but definitely human sized, rolled their eyes, letting out an amused grunt as they waited for him to be done.
1 quick ball was sent, then a few pokeballs, then ultra balls, used his only premier ball, and finally decided that enough was enough, it was getting origin balled.
Obviously he had not noticed how the sight of the ball made the spacial deity perk up, watching unblinkingly as they wondered what the human was planning to do with it. They did not think he would chuck it at the ditto.
The ball stopped mid air, before going the other way, hitting the brown haired on the head, making him fall.
“Hey- Ouch !” He whined, holding his throbbing forehead, before grumbling when the ditto fled. “What’s wrong ?” He asked the legendary, who was now crouched besides him.
‘THAT’S MINE.’
“Wha- ??”
‘THIS DEVICE WAS MADE FOR ME, TO CONTAIN ME, THEREFORE IT IS MINE. WHY ARE YOU USING IT ON OTHERS ?’
Niko noticed how Palkia’s fuzz was rising, specifically on the tail, he also noticed the low growl coming from them. They’re angry. Oh no.
“I just use it from time to time, then I free the Pokémon, clean the ball, and recalibrate it to use it again, that’s it, they don’t stay for long-“
They growled again, louder this time around, which immediately shut the human up, stiffening entirely.
‘I DO NOT CARE. I AM SPACE, THIS DEVICE IS IN MY JURIDICTION, SO IT’S MINE. YOU USING IT ON OTHER POKÉMONS IS AN INSULT TO ME.’
“Okay.” The human said softly. He felt guilty, he didn’t know they’d take it this poorly. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
They seemed less angry, fuzz smoothing and the growl ceased, but there was still a pressure in the air.
‘THANK YOU.’
They gently moved a paw ? Hand ? Clawed hand ? Eh, to his head, seeing if he was hurt from their stunt. ‘DOES IT HURT ? DID I HURT YOU ?’
They moved a claw to his forehead, which made the human winced.
“Yeah- Kinda.”
The dragon let out a soft coo, feeling guilty themselves.
‘I’M SORRY.’
It didn’t take long before the human felt their hand dampen against his forehead. Ah, Water Veil, at least that’s what he suspected.
“It’s fine, don’t do it again though.”
‘YES..’
Nuzzling-
An affectionate gestures from your dragon friend that essentially marks you as theirs, it should also warn off other dragon types as they can smell that another dragon has basically claimed you as their own.
They rub the scent glands in their cheeks in order for you to have the same scent as them. It can be seen in a familial way or in a very close friends way.
Niko learned quickly that one of Palkia’s favorite things in the world was cuddles, especially if they could be the little spoon (yes, you read that right), so when the deity has a hard day…
“Come here.” Was all that was needed to be said, alongside having his arms open, to have the spacial being body slam themselves on top of him (it hurts, a lot, even in human form they are heavy, their weight barely changes after all). Despite the human’s sound from being slammed, the dual typed legendary just nuzzled him, rubbing their head on his chest as they rumbled loudly on top of him.
“Ouch…” He mumbled while the deity wrapped their arms around him, resting their head on his collarbone. “Comfy ?” He asked. He was not comfy, his chest was aching, his back too now that he thought about it, but they nodded with such a happy smile so he’ll just suck it up for now.
“Yes ! You’re very comfortable !” They moved up to rub their head against his neck. “And you’re soft.” Then up some more to his cheek. “And warm.” All while rumbling.
Niko knew that not only were they nuzzling him, but also scenting him, he thinks, he’s not sure if Palkia still had scent glands in human form.
Still, he reached up a hand to cup their cheeks, which they were quick to lean on, nuzzling it happily as they loved on him. They then rolled, the human still in their arms, until they were on their back, rubbing their cheek against the top of his head.
“You know, you could have just asked to move.” He deadpanned as he felt them nibble their hair, which he doubts tastes good. They rumbled as a response, and accepting his fate, he simply stayed there until they were done scenting him.
Hoard-
Most dragon species tend to hoard things, they are usually set on one thing that they will hoard, wether it’s rocks, things from a particular color, plushies, gold, blankets.. They will hoard what they want, this is a behavior seen even when they are barely out from the egg.
“Wow.”
The human muttered as he stared at the immense pile of human objects in front of him.
Palkia’s realm is, in his eyes, really pretty ; a pink universe with stars and pearls floating around, alongside little islands, rivers and waterfalls floating around.
And this is apparently the island they had chosen to keep their hoard. And it was entirely made out of humans gadgets, from wooden wheels to Nokias.
“You mind if I take a closer look ?” He asked as he looked to the side where the spacial dragon was, laid down and watching over their precious pile of..stuff. But they nodded. “Okay thanks.”
Let’s see.. Bicycle, toaster, ancient things he had no idea about (probably something about fire, but no clue though), wheels, another wheel- is that a IPod ?!
Niko did not even think twice before picking up the small grey object, inspecting the wheel, the screen, it seemed out of battery, but that is such a cool find.
“Holy fuck I had the same one when I was a kid !” He said joyfully.
One thing about Palkia’s domain was, yes there was a bit of lighting, but no sun, so no proper shadows, so he did not notice the dragon looming over him until he was picked up.
“Wuh- Palkia ?!” As much as Niko was surprised and as much as a warning would have been nice, he did not move, dangling from Palkia’s arms like a furret before he was set down into the pile.
He did not know what to think of it, staying as still as possible so the objects under him don’t move, that would be bad, he thinks.
Palkia seemed to calculate something, tilting their head to a side, then to the other, and another tilt, before deciding that he was either not good enough or not at the right place before picking him up again, and setting him down somewhere else.
Palkia sat down in front of their masterpiece, and this time they seemed content as they trilled loudly, tail tapping against the ground as their fuzz rose, especially in the neck area (it looked cute though, a fuzzy collar, like an Eevee).
“You happy ?”
They nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re happy because I’m in your hoard ?”
They trilled even louder.
“You know I’ll have to leave eventually, right ?”
The poor thing completed deflated, looking like a sad, soggy dragon.
‘B-BUT-‘ Niko heard loudly from inside his head. ‘I CAN GET YOU FOOD.’ They flexed their arm. ‘AND PROTECTION.’
“I know, take it up with your sibling.”
Palkia grumbled, and Niko did not have to understand dragon language to know that this was a curse word.
He laughed anyway.